WWI #106 - Still There Don't Care

Still in the 164 range ... weight is up just a bit from last Friday, but the average actually went down a tiny bit. Things stayed pretty steady this week, and I just didn't care. In the past few weeks, there were days I really tried on the eating end. This week ... not so much. I didn't have one day under 2000. My average in was  2817. Yikes! It was higher than my average daily burn (2704). Of course, no deficit with stuff like that ... over by 2912. I guess I'm lucky the scale didn't shift up more than it did.

There are just these last few weeks of summer. I guess I'm hoping that when school shifts back into gear and we return to the routine, that maybe that will be the push I need to start the scale moving in the other direction. I KNOW you shouldn't do the "when this happens I will ..." thinking, but the school schedule has always been a good motivator to me. No more sleeping in, uninterrupted hours during the day, back to bed at a reasonable time. Of course school does have it's challenges too, with carpools, making lunches, homework help. I guess we'll see. 

Here's the quick weekly recap ...

• Friday (0731): Hit Zumba in the morning but it wasn't a great class, left it unsatisfied. Got in some elliptical and bike, so still a decent day for exercise. Eating was fairly high. I want sugar!
• Saturday (0801): Back to basketball today. Easy win for our guys. Hubs had been out running errands and brought home donuts from a downtown deli. They were delish. Activity included elliptical, lawn mow and grocery shopping. In the evening we had went to my brother's house to sign some legal documents, and have pizza (they got MY kind, just cheese and white sauce). Stopped at Cabellas on the way home (we each got a small fudge sample, yum!)
• Sunday (0802): We didn't do our usual Sunday Circle breakfast, as we were having waffles later  with my side of the family. Knowing this, I had laid out croissants to rise for our breakfast instead. Walked to/from church. Nap in the afternoon, then the big family activity.
• Monday (0803): Started off the day with double Zumba! Hit an 8:30 class, then my usual 9:30 class. I was late getting there but they hadn't started yet. Quick stop at Kmart, then Smiths on the way home. It was a cool and rainy morning, and just felt like soup and breadstick weather. At home, I whipped up the dough and got breadsticks rising. A little later I made the soup and turned some of the dough into cinnamon rolls. We had #2's girlfriend and our neighbor boy over for dinner. It was yummy. The leftover soup never seems to get eaten though. While I often can manage a low-calorie day on Mondays ... not today.
• Tuesday (0804) : Started good with Zumba, but then had to run #5 to the dentist for some work. I did run some errands quick rather than just waiting, but stuff like this disrupts my day and I can't quite get my mojo back. Should have been a weights day, or at least bike, but all I did was a little elliptical. Wasn't feeling good in the evening, and then sliced my thumb, which made me even more woozy. Amidst all this I still managed to eat a lot.
• Wednesday (0805): Zumba in the morning, with a quick stop at the store for things I'd forgotten in Monday's grocery store run. A bike and elliptical during the day. The gym floor is being refinished a the rec center, so the kids can't play basketball this whole week, but I did drop them off to swim for a while. Kept calories a little better today. 
• Thursday (0806): Zumba in the morning, with ANOTHER store run ... I haven't been keeping a good check on what we need (out of milk!) Got in elliptical and bike. Hubs took a couple of the kids to see a climbing competition in Park City. I hit Zumba and grabbed Crazy Bread on the way home. Calories spiraled a bit out of control today, even with a bit of activity.

A little shooting at Cabellas Saturday night.

 

Last picture of all three ducks together, as on Sunday morning ... two of them flew away. It wasn't unexpected, they had been trying their wings for a while now (see the video in last week's recap post). One ducky, our egg hatched one stayed, but she seems a little lonely now. 

 Rainy days and Mondays ... means soup and breadsticks.

 Daddy and a couple boys watching the Psicocomp in Park City.

... and video of the week. We are STILL struggling with the second kitty. 

They attack each other if they are in the same room.

It's been over two weeks and we still have been unable to integrate the kitties. They attack each other almost immediately. Not sure what to try next... #twocattroubles #blackhamkitty

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Aug 5, 2015 at 5:45pm PDT

WWI # 105 - Stuck

These last few weeks, the weigh-ins have been about the same. Small changes up and down but no real movement. I realized I hadn't updated my Weekly-WeighIns for a while (since April) and it was depressing to go enter the numbers from the past few months. To watch the slow but steady gain. Finally hitting the 160s the third week in June, and then a four pound jump the week after that. Then ... stuck. The numbers haven't been going up any more, but they are not going down either.

I did TRY this week, or at least I felt like I did. I upped the exercise. I did control calories ... at least for a few of the days (Mon/Tues/Thursday were very good days). Not sure what happened on Wednesday. I went a little crazy. Maybe the closest thing to a binge I've done. I just could not stop myself from eating. So, NUMBERS ... weekly weight was down .3, but the average was up .27. Average daily intake was 2157, and the average daily burn was 2768. This resulted in a deficit of 1285 for the week. Happy it's a deficit, but I need to get it to at least 3500 to match "lose a pound" numbers. Here's a quick recap ...

• Friday (0724): A holiday here in Utah. Hubs had the day off and took the kids for donuts. I tried to avoid temptation by staying home, but they brought back. You know I wanted them to. Krispy Creme. Yummy. Because I ate donuts I tried not to eat much else. Hubs took the kids to see Pixals. I ended up having popcorn that night as we watched "Chef" at home. Not very motivated today ... just 40min on the elliptical.
• Saturday (0725): Got in 40min on the elliptical, 30min on the bike, and mowed the lawn.  Hit the grocery store too.  No basketball game this week because of the holiday. . There were some leftover donuts, but not anymore. French Dip for dinner, which I don't really like (I'll sneak a little roast beef) and I actually did keep calories in check at 2000. 
• Sunday (0726): Hubs headed into work, trying to catch up after his vacation. With him gone, and anticipating a BBQ for dinner, we didn't do our usual Sunday Circle breakfast. I walked to/from church, but that was it for "exercise" (if you can even call it that). Had the inlaws over, with yummy mashed potatoes, rolls, marinated chicken and steak ... with Skookie for dessert. Hard not to go over on calories, especially with low activity.
• Monday (0727): Ok, ready to get back at it! Started the day with Zumba, got in 40min elliptical, 30min bike and even a little WiiFit. Kept calories in check too. Duckie duty, took the kids to the gym for some basketball time (the pool is closed this week) and #5 had basketball practice in the evening. Monday's we hear from our missionary too (and I update his blog). Kept calories in check at 1400.
• Tuesday (0728): Happy with the drop in weight after my good day yesterday, motivated me to be good today. Zumba, elliptical, bike and WEIGHTS. It's been a while since I've done them. Again, kept calories in check (1900) even with going with the family to Pretzel Maker in the evening.
• Wednesday (0729): Didn't sleep well last night, my legs were aching after the workout. Grabbed a Little Debbie Nutty bar before Zumba, and my eating went downhill from there. I just could not stop. I just wanted sugar. It was pretty bad, as I do have a ton of stuff around. Not quite as motivated for fitness either, although I did get in an hour of elliptical in addition to my Zumba. I did have to spend a bit of time shuttling kids around today (#5 had a birthday party, the other boys went to the gym).
• Thursday (0730): Trying to shake off the uncontrolled eating from yesterday. Zumba in the morning, 40min of elliptical, 30min bike, and then my evening Zumba class. I did my usual stop at Little Caesars on the way home, grabbing some crazy bread. I did have a couple sticks, but I had keep calories in control enough that I was still under 2000 for the day.

Am I just a corn on the cob snob?

I NEVER would have picked the middle corn 

stuck in the middle, out of sight!

Me and kitten ...
STILL working on integrating the two kitties!

 Worms! These are mealworms, and of course they arrived during the day when Hubs wasn't home so I had to deal with them (transfer them from the box into smaller containers with oat bran. This did involve TOUCHING then a bit, luckily the boys helped out). I do NOT like mealworms (treats for the duckies), I'm better with earthworms ... good thing I guess, as the day before these grubs came, I received a package of them and had to prep soil and such for them!

Speaking of the duckies ...

Duckies take flight! They have been flying across the yard for a bit now. We weren't sure if they would fly, one being a domestic duck, and considering how very well fed they are (fat duckies). Will they fly away at some point? #daddysduckies

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Jul 27, 2015 at 6:04pm PDT

A day or so after I took this video, the boys and I were letting the duckies out of the pen for their evening outdoor time. It was all similar to this ... except when Alex (the biggest one, the male) flew over the fence into the neighbor's yard. Luckily, their dogs weren't out. I was hoping he'd just fly back, but he just sat there looking confused. We had to go into the yard and walk him back to ours. The night after that, he took flight again, making a wide circle in the sky and returning to our backyard (and a rather rough landing, still working on those!). Unsure about what the future holds for our flying feathered friends ...

So, back to the WEIGHT issue. Obviously it's the eating. I know this. I just have NO cravings for "good" food whatsoever. Really. I see healthy eaters post stuff all the time, things they rave about, and for me? It's stuff I'd have to be starving to eat (and I'm just talking normal stuff like smoothies and salads and such, not even any of the "out there" stuff). I admit it. I'm not normal. I've got Eating Issues. I guess what frustrates me is that this is nothing new ... I've been successful in spite of it all, it just doesn't seem to be working anymore. And then I get frustrated and eat ice cream out of the container ...

Long Weekend

It's been a long weekend. Three days without Zumba. With Memorial Day today, it's not my usual Motivated Monday. Generally my Monday Zumba doesn't take off even for holidays, but our main instructor is gone, so it was cancelled today.  As a family, we all slept in, then did a big breakfast (we didn't do our usual Sunday Circles yesterday). Hubs made the rounds to the cemeteries ... I stayed home and supervised, as the kids had multiple friends over. I'll admit, my anxiety issues do get in the way (anticipating crowds and car rides). 

The photo above is Hubs and my MIL at her folks grave. The picture below is Hubs, MIL and my folks at the graves of my younger sister and brother who passed away as infants. The tree in the background was small when the babies were buried years ago. It sure has grown. 

Other weekend activities ...

• Hubs and #3 painted #3's bedroom ... something that has been needed since the big room rearrange months ago. 
• Replaced the windshields in all three of our vehicles, in an attempt to get them  registered. 
• I made a couple trips to the store, restocking groceries.
• Made a big batch of brownies, and cool whip dessert, for a family gathering on Sunday.
• Finished up the last of the basketball videos (Spring League Highlights).
• Updated the family blog and the missionary blog.
• Lots of duckie fun (daily bath swimming and outside time)
• Hubs and I finished up American Crime, and the latest GOT. I got in some Grey's Anatomy and Good Wife (still catching up). 
• Finished up my latest book, and updated my GoodReads. 

Didn't get a lot of exercise in Saturday and Sunday. Managed to eat a lot both days though ... isn't that how it goes?  No Zumba today, but I got in 100minutes on the elliptical (it's been a while since I'd done that) and some reading/riding.

Hubs has "Band of Brothers" on right now ... 

that's appropriate for Memorial Day, right?

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the return to routine tomorrow. Back to Zumba! Yea! We'll see how it is getting up early again after three days of sleeping in. Only a couple more weeks left of "routine" and then it's the summer schedule. Lots of storms again this week, then I think we'll finally get some sunshine ...

Linking up with Marvelous in  my Monday.

Biking, Basketball and a Box of Childhood

This past weekend just flew by. Busy with basketball. 

Watching. Videotaping. Cheering. That's what I was doing. 

Hubs was gone, busy with biking (a weekend camp/bike trip). 

He just barely got home (left on Friday).

My 16-year old had EIGHT games this week. In addition to the time spent going and watching him play, the basketball continues when I get home. I man the video camera during his games, and so I need to go through the clips, discarding those where nothing memorable happened. I then take the remaining highlights and make a Muvee ... again going through the clips to highlight the important parts, adding a title/credits, and music. It can take a lot of time where I am just sitting at the computer. I was pretty happy when #2 and one of his friends did the first "going through the clips" portion. Saved me several hours, and I was able to get straight to the muvee making. I also updated the Basketball Blog, where I showcase the YouTube links (and I've been getting into Instagram and Twitter more too, as that's what the teenagers are using most these days.)

Here's #2 in action ...

... Wednesday's game against Riverton is up on YouTube. Here's a Cal clip...

A video posted by BlackhamBall (@blackhamball) on May 2, 2015 at 8:28pm PDT

Saturday, I also went to watch my nine year old play. I often jog the track during his games, if one of my other boys will come man the video camera. As they weren't willing, I was the videographer this week. I was glad I was, because the munchkin had an AMAZING game! Normally I only get one or two usable clips from these games, but on Saturday I had enough to make a muvee of just that game!

Between all the basketball ... I DID hit Zumba on Saturday. With Hubs gone, I stayed up late on Friday night. I really thought I'd sleep in ... but I was awake around 7:00, so off to Zumba I went. On Sunday, the boys and I went to my folks for a monthly celebration (all the current birthdays), and my brother brought "a box of childhood" in the form of records that he had somehow ended up with. I'm not sure why, because some of these records were MINE. 

I've been searching online for any updated digital editions of the "Animals" and had never had any luck. I had located "Music Machine" but not the Chip and Dale "Little Red Caboose" ... that one definitely did belong to my brother. He's apparently not as sentimental about it as I am though, as I ended up coming home with the box of records. Now ... I need a record player!

That was my weekend, it was marvelous. Weight actually stayed about this same Sat/Sun, but did bop up this morning, as it is wont to do. 158.9 for Monday morning ... back to the schedule, return to the routine!

Yea Monday!

 

I love Mondays. One of my Zumba instructors posted the picture above. I'm not a Zumba instructor, just a rabid follower, but I say that pretty much every weekend! Zumba does have a lot to do with it. But it's more the return to routine. I can do SO much better with exercise and eating on the weekdays. The weekends totally throw me off.  I mean ... I weighed in at 155.6 on Friday morning. This morning? 159.6. Up four pounds over the weekend. Now, I know much is probably water weight (hubs and I did indulge in popcorn last night while we watched several shows) but still ...

For a while there, I was pretty regular with my "Marvelous in my Monday" weekend recap. Then I started doing a weekly recap in my weekly weigh-in on Fridays, and felt it was a little repetitive, and my Monday posts kind of disappeared.  This past weekend was pretty busy though, so I thought I'd come back and post all about it :)

Friday night we went out to dinner with my folks and my brother and his wife. It was Chinese, which isn't too bad calorie wise. There's no bread/rolls for me to overdose on, we don't do dessert. I get the sweet and sour chicken without the sauce (not for calorie control, just because of my eating issues).

Saturday I went shopping. I cleaned out the fridge on Friday and the poor little fruit drawer was empty. We went to Sam's Club, and while I usually leave the kidlets home, today I invited them along. I gave them $10 and they went to the food court while I did the shopping.

They were pretty happy and full after ... and our fruit was restocked. Apples, bananas, grapes, clementines and the first watermelon of the season (I picked it out myself, and it was a good one!) I  don't like strawberries myself, but even I had to admit they looked awesome. They were huge! But the last package I had purchased had gone uneaten, so I passed them up.

Then, my youngest had a basketball game. He is playing at the gym with a track above the court. Often, I'll jog the track while watching the game. I can usually get in four miles or so. The problem is, I also like to get video of the games. One of my other boys had been helpful in coming and handling the video camera, so I could jog. But not this week (or last week). I really DO want to have the camera on though, I just love catching clips like this ...

Colton shoots and scores in today's basketball game. Follow @blackhamball for more Blackham boy basketball clips!

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Apr 25, 2015 at 2:32pm PDT

Saturday afternoon, we went with Hub's side of the family to the cemetery. On Thursday, it has been 23 years since my husband's father passed away. It's been an annual April tradition for our family. It was a little overcast and rainy, so we didn't stay too long.

After, we went out to eat, and this time there was most definitely dessert. 

High calories!

Sunday there was sleeping in. I'd laid out some frozen croissants for breakfast. They rise overnight, then you bake them up fresh and warm. Delicious! NOT low calorie. Then there was church, then a nice nap. I did make Sunday Circles (Belgian Waffles) for the boys ... and myself. Then Hubs and I watched several episodes of American Crime and the latest Game of Thrones ... while munching on popcorn.  Not a low calorie day. I did elliptical 40 minutes both Saturday and Sunday, but that was not even close to competing with the calorie intake. 

So back to Monday morning ... when I am uber active, and can usually make better food choices, when we aren't going out to eat and such. How was your weekend?

MIMM - Easter Weekend

For a while there, I was participating in the Marvelous In My Monday link-up every week. Recapping the weekend, admitting to my weekend weight gain. I got a little out of the habit, as I'd recap the entire week on Friday, and felt like that was enough.

But this past weekend (and a few days before) have been full of family and fun. It was Spring Break for the kidlets, they were out Thursday and Friday, and today. As I'm in charge of bringing eggs to the family party, I put the kids to work filling eggs. I really thought I had enough stuff,  but I had to make another trip to the store for "fillers" ... in addition to candy, we try and have a lot of non-edible stuff too. Little toys, stickers, balloons, etc. We put some monetary prizes in some of the eggs too - a $2 bill, a silver dollar, and a copper coin (Hubs is a collector).

 A big basket of eggs!

Hubs decided to run to my folks house ... it's about 10 miles. He left about an hour before we did. We caught up to him around the 6 mile mark, and he said he was done and accepted a ride the rest of the way. 

It was fun to see ALL the Fitbit's at the family gathering ... let's see, there were eright ONEs (me, Grandma, Grandpa, three of my boys, ny brother and his wife), five of the FLEX (two brothers, two SIL, one sister), one FORCE (it's been recalled, but my oldest brother didn't give it up), one Charge (my 11-year old), one ChargeHR (me) and one Surge (Happy Easter Hubs!) I hope to get my 14-year old to wear the Flex Hubs had been using.

 There was too much eating this weekend. Not enough exercise (well, Hubs got enough in on Saturday!). I barely hit 3000 steps on Sunday, it was such a lazy day. My 11-year old asked me how many steps I had, and I admitted my number to him. He had over 12,000! No "exercise" just lots of playing around!

So with Easter behind us, my weight UP ... I really hope to get back on a schedule, and reign in the eating. It was back to Zumba this morning, errands, then putting away all of Easter. We hadn't dyed eggs, and the little guys complained about that, so I hard boiled some and we did it today. Dyeing a day late!

How was your Easter weekend?
What Easter Treats temp you the most?

A Couple of Cakes and a Caught Cold

This past weekend was my second son's 16th birthday. With all the crazy chaos the past week (getting #1 son off on his mission, rearranging the rooms for the kids) I wasn't really prepared to party. I hadn't really gotten gifts or anything (I have been buying him quite a few new clothes lately though, I should have saved them for his birthday). He actually needs cash (he's broke!) and I'll get him a couple belated presents. I did get him cake though! He wouldn't commit to choosing between triple chocolate or white buttercream ... so I bought both! We had one Saturday night (his actual birthday) with Hubs family over  and one Sunday night with my folks and his girlfriend (who had been out of town for the weekend). Yes ... I ate cake. It was yummy. The white cake is my favorite ... and it is gone, so at least it won't be around tempting me anymore.

I was fine Friday ... got in my Zumba and elliptical and continued working on the room rearrange that has been occupying the last several days (and getting me lots of non-aerobic steps and stairs!). As I went to bed that night, I felt that little tickle in my throat ...

I've caught a cold. :(

Hubs has been under the weather, and I was really hoping it wouldn't pass to anyone else. Alas. It was a bad night. I didn't get much sleep at all. Saturday I was still able to get all the things done I needed (grocery shopping, a basketball game, continued clean up) but I wasn't feeling great. I didn't do any exercise ... and although I wasn't super hungry, I did still manage to eat plenty (unlike my sickness a little over a year ago. Flu x2). Another bad sleep night, and no exercise on Sunday either.

Really hoping I can kick this cold and not have it impact my exercise. I remember when hubby came down with it a week or so ago, he tried to continue to workout, but said it was really hard. Not the normal enjoyable runs and whatnot. 

Weight was actually NOT up after the weekend, so that's good at least.

That was MY weekend. How was yours? Linking up with MIMM.

President's Day & The Weekend

It's President's Day ... the kids like it because they have the day off from school. I thought I'd use this holiday to share this incredible penny portrait my brother made several years ago. Isn't it cool? Ala Lincoln!

For my weekend accountability, I weighed in Friday morning at 151.1 ... after the weekend (Monday morning) the scale showed 153.2. Not horrible, I actually expected worse. This past Saturday was  Valentine's Day. It was kind of a crappy, unhappy Valentine's Day (and day before).

Hubs and I were/are a bit on the outs (it happens even in happy marriages, right?) He wants to completely redo the kitchen. I. Don't. I LIKE my kitchen, and the though of it completely torn up, and the cost (financial, time, inconvenience) ... totally stresses me out! I know, most women would probably love a new kitchen. Poor me! Add to that, and Hubby having a cold ... no smooching on Valentine's Day :(

I don't know that I slept at all Thursday night stressing about kitchen stuff. That doesn't make for a good Friday. All the Zumba posters always show everyone happy and smiling, and that is how I usually feel. In fact, I'd wondered if you COULD be sad at Zumba. You can. I couldn't kick it Friday. I had gone to an earlier class (taking advantage of having my oldest home to run #3 to school) because #4 wanted (well, insisted) me to come be a parent helper at the school valentine day party. After attempting Zumba, I gave up after 30 minutes. My heart wasn't in it (literally, I could NOT get my heart rate up, my stats were as miserable as me). I went to the school and did my duty there, then went home and curled up in bed until it was time to pick the kids up from school.

There are times stress and sadness take away my appetite. Sometimes I exercise more, using it as an escape. This wasn't one of those weekends. I didn't really go overboard on the eating ... but I did make a couple batches of sugar cookies (shaped as hearts, had to get into the valentine day a bit). I ate many of these cookies. Fri/Sat/Sun were pretty pitiful as far as fitness.

There was basketball, as usual. Games Friday and Saturday. At least they got me out of the house, out of the bed. You can see my #2 in action (he's #3 in the video) as I also spent some time over the weekend going through clips and making muvees ... http://youtu.be/camXwGPKWCE He had 16 points.

 Here's a picture ... love the funny faces the stills capture!

Isn't this an awesome shot? 

(I didn't take it, one of the other coaches did)

Sunday was church ... and then the afternoon helping #3 with a school assignment. Not exactly how Hubs and I wanted to spend the weekend, but I'm sure glad Hubs came to help. I always "love" homework for the parents too (although #2 did this same assignment a couple years ago with a friend without any help). Here is the finished product (in video form) ...

So that was the weekend ... linking up with MIMM. I really am glad it's Monday. Even if it's not a "normal" Monday, being a holiday with kids out of school. I did still hit Zumba and got in my 40minutes of elliptical. That's not my usual Monday, but it's good enough. Now out to dinner with the family ... a "Last Supper" for #1 who will be leaving early Wednesday for two years. And as soon as he's gone, it will be the GREAT ROOM REARRANGE (moving the remaining four kids into different bedrooms), which will impact exercise, but will still probably get in a lot of activity. It will be a good change but a lot of work. Maybe I'll be stressed enough I won't snack all the time!

Glad This Weekend is Over!

Our oldest son, being 19 years old, is going on a mission for the LDS church. He'll be serving in Peublo, Mexico for two years. There has been a lot of prep, getting travel documents, new clothes, etc. One of the final events is a "farewell" talk in church, usually with an open house afterward (as some friends and family have come from further away. We have to feed them and have a chance to socialize, right?)

This past weekend was the farewell and open house. Hubs was pretty stressed about having people over in the house. This past week, he pulled up all the carpet in the front three rooms and had new carpet laid down (New Carpet/Couch). He bought a new couch, love seat and chairs and took loads to good will and the dump. If he'd had more time I'm sure there would have been a paint job and new tile too.

Then there was food prep. You never know exactly how many people are going to come. We ordered a bunch of mini croissants and pounds of chicken salad. My MIL offered to bring a fruit plate and a veggie plate. Years ago, Hubs purchased not one, but TWO chocolate fountains! We have used them quite often during the past years (A Fountain of Chocolate and the Aftermath). Of course one fountain was going to be milk chocolate. If we've done two, the other, smaller fountain would have either dark chocolate, white chocolate or caramel. This time, the boys had a brainstorm to try cheese. We tried it out the night before and it was a hit ...

Luckily, nachos do not appeal to me at all, 

but Hubs moaned that he ate way too much!

 The spread ... 

A closer look at the chocolate fountain and it's "dippers"

Lots of socializing.

Poor #2 sat down on the couch to rest.

Add an Uncle.

Then a brother.

Then another brother.

Then cousins.

No rest for the wicked!

Dogpiles just tend to happen in our family!

It was SUCH a relief later on Sunday afternoon. All the guests were gone, everything was put away. Hubs and I took a nap! This even has been weighing on us so we're glad it's over. It didn't really feel like a "weekend" it was so busy.  But Monday morning ... back to the routine.  Weigh in this morning was 155, not too bad after having a fountain of chocolate flowing in the kitchen!  Linking up with MIMM. At least this next week should be fairly normal ...

Wow, What A Weekend!

It was Superbowl weekend, and what a weekend it was. Very busy, but good, at least as far as family. Food and Fitness wise ... not so good. I was up three pounds Monday from Sunday's weigh-in, 4.7 from Fridays! Yikes! There were football sugar cookies (yes, I ate one) and our Superbowl Smorgasbord (steak, marinated chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls). It's a tradition. I don't have our 2015 family blog post up yet, but here's 2014, 2013, 2012 & 2011. I must admit, Hubs and I both totally forgot about the big dinner. #3 was having none of that though, and he bugged us until we caved and did it, even at the last minute.

I think we watched the game more this year than any year before. As I mentioned last year, we have family in Seattle, big Seahawks fans. So we were cheering for them. #4 has become a bit of a football fan, playing at school (just touch, not tackle) and so he was pretty into watching. It helped that it was a tight game too, kept things exciting. We were missing #1, who was down the street with some friends. Daddy and the boys were throwing a ball around the room too. Usually Daddy says "No throwing balls in the house" but on Sunday, he was the one doing the throwing. Even though our team didn't win, it was a fun night with family and food. 

It was a basketball weekend as well. #2 had a game on Friday. I videoed it, and made a highlights reel (here, my boy is #3). #3 and #5 had games on Saturday. I manned the video camera for their games too. #3's game highlights are here (my boy is #31), but I'm waiting until the end of the season to make one video of the little guy's games. So there was some sitting (both at the games, and at the computer, editing the videos). 

Saturday, we also had family photos taken. Now, I'm a snapshot kind of gal. We've NEVER done a professional family photo shoot. A couple of times we've had our picture taken with an extended family session, but we'd never set one up ourselves. But with #1 leaving in a couple weeks (he'll be gone for two years) we figured we should do it. 

Here's a couple snapshots of the professional shoot. I hope the pictures turn out good. That I remembered to suck in my tummy, push my chin out a bit ... prevent those stomach rolls and double chins that always seem to appear in pictures!

So that was MY weekend! It felt really busy. I still got my Zumba and elliptical in on Friday. Elliptical in on Saturday, and one 20min session on Sunday (and a walk to church). Not enough activity to combat the calories ... as evidenced by the scale shock this morning. But back to the routine ... although it's a bit of a crazy week. A couple crazy ones, as #1 finalizes his mission prep. Hope I can keep it all together!

Linking up with Marvelous in my Monday ...

Monday ... Back at It

Monday ... back to the routine!

I started the day with Zumba, but I forgot my hat!

No hat means sweaty, straight bangs in my eyes. I need to remember my hat! But happily my HRM was working today and I got good stats!  535 calories, "in zone" 54 of the 69 minutes and an average heart rate of 135. Fitbit sait 541 calories and 8035 steps. 

I always really like getting back to the routine on Monday. I had an absolutely lazy day yesterday! I didn't even hit 6000 steps for the whole day. I did pretty good on Saturday though, hitting 20k. Better than Friday, when I only hit 17k (I blame TOM).  

My weight went up slightly after my weigh-in on Friday, but then it's stayed exactly the same for Sat/Sun and this morning (154.1). Usually I have a bit more of an "up" on Monday mornings.  

Hubs got home from his trip to Las Vegas late Thursday.

It's good to have him home.

 

He had done pretty well there he thought. Controlled calories (and tracked with MFP) even with all the temptations. He started each day with a jog through the city. He really kept up with me on the steps. He had a Fitbit Funny when his Fitbit reset at midnight mountain time (and he still had an hour on Vegas time). He felt totally gypped out of those steps being added to that day's count! I love that he's liking his Fitbit! *Ü*   He did a Friday weigh-in too and was NOT happy with the result. Poor Hubs, he was very down on Friday and Saturday (it affects the guys too!) He weighed again on Sunday and had a substantial drop. That's why I weigh myself every day, just in case that ONE weigh-in is off.

I had hoped to get in a weekend weights session ... but it didn't happen. We didn't get our racquetball in on Saturday this week. It was very busy with the boy's basketball. Games for #3 and #5. The little one had some great shots, I need to make a highlight video. The other game? We're just going to try and forget about it! #2 had a game Friday, and Saturday he needed to go to games to "work" running clocks or taking pictures and then just cheering on friends. I did a lot of running kids around. Hubs had a huge pinewood derby Saturday too.  I did really miss our racquetball session.

After all the schedule shifts last week (kids out of school two days, hubby gone, addition of a kitty, anxiety issues resulting in homeschooling some days, TOM...) I think we should be back to a regular routine this week.  Hoping to control calories and have a drop by Friday's weigh-in, for me (under 150)  and Hubs (under 200) ...

Well, enough sitting at the computer, time to hit my home gym again!

Time for some reading and riding!

Linking up with MIMM.

It's Monday?

It doesn't feel like Monday. The kids aren't in school due to the MLK holiday. There was sleeping in, a late breakfast, and we're going out with family tonight. Not my usual "Motivated Monday"  but I'll still do my best!  It was a great Zumba class this morning and I've done one elliptical session so far. My littlest one had some homework due tomorrow. A worksheet on Martin Luther King Jr. It was fun to help him work through it and learn a little more about the man myself.

As usual for my Monday, I'm linking up with MIMM and recapping the weekend. It was a memorable one. On Friday, #2 was playing in a big basketball game over at the high school. Normally it's just me and #3 coming to watch, sometimes Daddy will try to hit the game. But this week, it was a big fundraiser dinner, so all the brothers, Maga, Aunt Ana and her boys, were there. And what a game it was! This was against our main rival, and it was ending up tied at the end of every quarter ... including the fourth. So into overtime. Just a second left on the clock, it's tied up again and MY SON, from way behind the 3-point line is passed the ball ...

Check out the video below!

Clutch Callahan for the win in overtime! I shared this on Facebook yesterday and just figured out how to share here. #chhsbasketball

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Jan 17, 2015 at 10:04am PST

It was SO awesome! A link to all the game highlights is here. I spent some of my Saturday and Sunday going through the clips and making the video. I have video from two other basketball games (#3 and #5 played on Saturday, I'll need to get to them at some point too *Ü*  Basketball Mom!)

Also on Saturday, Hubs and I played racquetball again. I'm so glad we've got back to the court! We used to do it all the time. I hope we can keep it up, it's a perfect Saturday activity for me! 

Another Saturday event ...

With five active boys, we've never had a broken window! The weather was quite nice on Saturday, and the boys were playing outside. Makeshift baseball with a piece of pipe and a hard ball. The pipe ended up flying. It was quite the crash for those of us in the house! Broken glass everywhere, inside and out. Right now we have a nice piece of cardboard over the broken pane, I'm not sure when we'll get around to having it replaced.

Even though we just HAD Saturday, it SO feels like a Saturday today! This week will be a little off schedule. Hubs will be out of town for a few days, which can impact my days/nights. The kids are out of school on Friday too (for the end of the quarter).  My son's early morning driver's ed is now done (YEA!) so I don't need to make an additional early morning carpool to the school every day. I SHOULD still continue to get up early and get started on my day, but, we'll see.

How was your weekend?

Mondays and Marshmallows (Weekend Recap)

We've been having some nice weather (relatively speaking for January!) but today it's dark and dreary  and rainy. It started going downhill over the weekend. I came home from one of my outings to small white things all over the front lawn. I wondered if we'd been hit by a hailstorm. It wasn't hail. It was mini marshmallows. The marshmallows in this last bag I bought were covered by a chalky substance. I guess the boys thought it would be fun to throw them at each other (they left white marks all over as you can see in the picture above). That was just ONE of the goings on this past weekend. Other items were ...

• Gadget Upgrades: My son upgraded my phone to IOS8 withOUT my permission. I had purposely NOT upgraded as I don't like change and had heard about some bugs. Oh well. I can't tell too much difference yet. I also went out and bought a new Fitbit. My old one died on Friday afternoon. Customer service may replace it, but I couldn't wait, I needed a new one NOW. I also got batteries for my Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and installed them (it wasn't nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be) so I really hope it will work better from now on!
• Return to Racquetball: The Hubs and I used to play racquetball together quite, but it's been years. Hubs felt he was in shape enough to try it (without risking a heart attack) so we went over the weekend and it was so fun! Good burn without even feeling like a workout! I hope we can do it weekly.
• Broken Nose?: Poor #3 got hit hard in his game on Saturday. His nose was bleeding bad and looked just a little crooked. We wondered if it might be broken. He stayed to support the team but didn't play for the rest of the game (and without him they lost by one). I took him to the Instacare to have it checked out. They didn't rule out a broken nose, but couldn't say if it needed further treatment or just rest and ice. We were told to keep an eye on it and follow up with an ENT if we felt it still looked or felt funny after a few days.

Spending a couple hours at the Instacare wasn't in the plan for the weekend, but I guess it could have been worse. We had a family dinner out at "Italian Village" which is famous for their "pizza benders". I don't do pizza, so I had fettuccine alfredo, which wasn't that great and not worth the calories. Some weekend splurges were Hubs yummy chocolate malt, and my yummy lemon jello cake.

So yes ... weight is up a little after the weekend, as it is wont to do. This coming week is a busy one! I'll be glad to get it over with. A lot going on with the boys basketball. I'm on duty to make lunches for their away game on Tuesday. There is a big dinner on Friday which each player had to sell tickets to, provide two $50 giftbaskets, and then we parents get to work the dinner. I'll be glad when it's over!

 Basketball practices and/or games every night of the week.  My oldest, in prep for his mission, is also going through the temple this week. So that's another thing complicating the week a bit. I hope I can still get in all my exercise and not fall into any emotional/stress eating!

Wish me luck! 

How was your weekend?

Linking up with MIMM.

Return to the Routine

 I've said it several times on this blog ... I don't mind Mondays. I like the return to the routine after the wicked weekend. The same thing can be said for January! I'm not a big "New Year's Resolutions" type of gal, but I'm always happy when the holidays are over and we can return to routine. I really didn't do very well these past couple months and I'm hoping that I can lose these holiday pounds and get back on track with the structure of a schedule and the kids back in school.

The last "holiday" weekend. I did good on Friday and Saturday. After my highest weigh-in in a while, I got in some elliptical, Zumba, bike and treadmill. The boys and I were also busy cleaning up Christmas. We took down the tree and other decor. 

I love the handmade ornaments the boys have made at church or school throughout the years. I only got one new one this year. I think I'm going to tell the boys THAT is what I want each year, even as they grow older!

My oldest had given me a calendar of daily quotes for Christmas this year. I've decided to use it in my home gym to track my workout stats. I'll get some inspiration along with my daily exercise. See how good I did on Saturday? I filled up the little sheet almost completely with elliptical, some Zumba, weights and a ride on the stationary bike.

In the evening, we went to Desert Star theater to see "How the Grouch Stole Christmas" ... our last show on our season tickets there.We took the three little boys again. The two youngest hadn't LOVED it the first time, and I didn't press them to go again, but they had said "we'll try it" ... well that was their last try as they moaned throughout. #3 still enjoys it, so maybe we'll just take him in the future!

Normally I go over my eating at this establishment, with cheesy bread and rootbeer. On Saturday we just got pepperoni pizza for the boys (I didn't have any) so I kept calories somewhat in check.

 I took my usual Sunday Selfie yesterday ... I've cut off 6" of my hair (which I now regret) and our church time moved from the 1:00 hour to 9:00. I miss my sleep-in Sundays, but I got a nice afternoon nap yesterday. That didn't make it a very productive day.  I DID put on some pounds in Nov/Dec.  Just a lack of motivation ... decreased movement, increased eating. So starting back up now in January, I have some work to do! An NO excuses ... except that did I mention I did weights on Saturday. Those lunges and squats have left my legs super sore! That's a good thing I guess though, it shows I actually did something.

Well ... I've got some elliptical and Zumba done today, 

I think I'll go read and ride for a bit *Ü*

Linking up with MIMM.

Hope you are having a good Monday ... and a good January!

The Weekend and WWI #74

It's that time of year ... to "don our gay apparel". I looked in the Christmas box and found some shirts for myself and the two little ones. They consented to take a picture (ok, actually, they didn't, it was quite the ordeal and #3 taking the pictures didn't help any!).

At this point, I think I'm pretty prepared for Christmas. That's a good thing, as it's just days away. There will be a few last-minute wrappings, as UPS makes deliveries down to the wire. Some food prep ... I'm in charge of bread sticks and chicken noodle soup for our Christmas Eve celebration.

I'm NOT doing so well on the food and fitness front. I DID weigh in last Friday, as I always do, but I never got around to getting my official weekly weigh-in blog post up. Sigh ...

Profound Fact: Did you know, if you cut back on your activity, but still eat your usual amount (and maybe a bit over, and NOT good stuff) that you will gain weight? Go figure! It wasn't a very good week.  I managed to get my Zumba in Mon-Thurs, and I got in SOME elliptical each day, but not my usual hour ANY day last week. No bike, treadmill or weights either. Not great. I mean yes, it's been busy, but I don't know if it's really been worse than usual. It's just my motivation that has been lacking.

In addition to the profound fact mentioned above ... I also have always joked that there is a certain amount of weight out in the universe. When one person loses, another gains. It's equilibrium! *Ü*  Well, the hubs, after getting on the wagon and falling off, and on again and off again ... is ON again. He said it was some of the pictures from our recent Limo/Lights outing that jolted him into doing something. Anyway, apparently I am giving him a gym membership for Christmas! Yes, we have our own personal gym (J&G's) but I've taken over in there. My shoes all all over the place, it's MY show paused on the TV, if we both want to work out, of course I get dibs. Additionally, while our equipment is pretty nice for a home gym, it isn't quite the quality you'll get with commercial machines. Our elliptical and bike definitely need a tune up, as they both squeak annoyingly.

Hubby's sweaty selfie.

 

So ... hubs has started workout out again, and tracking food on MFP, and he had success this week losing a few pounds. So it's no wonder I gained right?

I'll admit, I am a bit on the "It's the holidays, I'll get back on track January 5th" train of thought. That's when the kids go back to school, the return to the routine. I'm not being HORRIBLE right now, but I'm certainly not where I was when I was losing in September/October (right after the kids went back to school after the summer ... structure is good for me!)

NUMBERS from the week ... average intake was 2450 (ouch), average daily burn was 2487 (ouch), I didn't even manage a deficit, but had an overage of 2250 (ouch). No wonder the scale moved upward (2.5 pounds from last week, ouch). 

So that was my weekly weigh-in ... Now a quick look at the weekend. 

Linking up with MIMM.

 My baby turned NINE years old! Poor kid, with a birthday so close to Christmas it so often gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I think we did manage to have some fun this year. They had a Christmas party on Friday at school, and he took in treats to pass out. I ended up missing Zumba and going in to help out with the party in Anxiety Child's class.  On Saturday, the birthday boy had his basketball game (they lost, bummer for the birthday boy!) and then we went bowling! 

It was a rather impromptu party, but we got Maga, Aunt Ana and her boys, all the brothers, the boy next door and even #2's girlfriend to attend. It was pretty fun. There was pizza, and then games in the arcade (which the kids like as much or more than the bowling). In the evening Grandma and Grandpa came out and we had cake and ice cream and played games.

Sunday after church we went out to Maga's for the annual "Sunday before Christmas" Christmas party. We played the "candy bar game" and bingo  and had soup and rolls ...

 and PLENTY of dessert. This is the leftovers ...

I made lemon jello cake, cinnamon rolls and brownies. Maga made a pineapple dessert. The cake didn't even get touched (I'm sure my boys, sans Hubby now being good, will finish it) and birthday boy had requested cinnamon rolls for his birthday breakfast. There is still some birthday cake left too. Ahh the temptations. AND ... I opened one of the packages of salted caramels.

So it was a great weekend with family and fun ... not so good lately on food and fitness. Hubby being good SHOULD help ME refocus, although I might need to get the holidays behind me and get back on a schedule. These next couple weeks with the kids out of school, I can sleep in, and I do plan on indulging in that! Schools and schedules will return, and hopefully I'll be excited to share my weekly weigh-in rather than putting off my Friday post!